Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is a former MVP who is only a handful of seasons removed from being one of baseball's most-feared sluggers. The game of baseball can be a cruel mistress, though, because now Howard's pretty much only known for his albatross of a contract. But at least he's desired by someone!
The York Revolution play in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is independent and not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The ballclub is playing with the report that the Phillies are willing to pay roughly $50 million of the approximately $60 million left on Howard's deal in order to trade him. So the Revolution website is running with this, obviously tongue-in-cheek:
After a quick look at the numbers, this left the York Revolution of the Atlantic League roughly $9,997,000 short of the funds required to put Howard in a Revolution uniform for the 2015 season. An Atlantic League maximum salary is roughly $3,000 per month.
The Revolution, whose fans responded to such time-honored baseball traditions as monkeys dressed as cowboys riding dogs to raise the team’s attendance by 5% in 2014, has turned back to those fans hoping the support will continue.
“If there are roughly 400,000 people living in York County, we only need $25 from each of them to have the funds necessary to put Ryan Howard in a Revolution uniform,” surmised York General Manager John Gibson.“Some dads might have to dock a kid’s allowance for a couple weeks, big deal,” Gibson continued.
The full "story" is available on their official website.
York, Penn. is just about a two-hour drive from Philadelphia, so there's some regional flavor there. Overall, this is just harmless fun. I do love the photoshopped hat on Howard's headshot. Well done, Revolution.